Here’s hoping that the best is yet to come for Orlando Weekly

All you need is now

We had a good run under Times Shamrock. For 15 years the Scranton-based company kept us humming along, even during the most severe recession in modern times. In 2013, though, the family that owned Times Shamrock decided to tighten up their operation. They announced that they'd put all of the alternative newsweeklies they owned – Baltimore City Paper, Cleveland Scene, Detroit Metro Times, Orlando Weekly and San Antonio Current – up for sale.

"All of these papers have been strong, profitable investments for us for many years," George V. Lynett Jr., CEO of Times-Shamrock, told employees, according to a story published in the Scranton Times-Tribune. "We have enjoyed operating in these diverse markets and the decision to sell was difficult. However, as we look to refocus and double down on our efforts at home in Northeast Pennsylvania, it made sense for us to offer these more distant papers for sale to someone who could take them to the next level of growth."

The publishers of the San Antonio Current and Cleveland Scene, Michael Wagner and Chris Keating, pounced on the opportunity. They partnered with Andrew Zelman, who had been considering purchasing the Cleveland Scene when Times Shamrock first announced it was up for sale, and in 2014, they formed a company called Euclid Media Group. Today that company owns the Current, the Scene, Metro Times, the Riverfront Times of St. Louis, and Orlando Weekly.

Under Euclid, the company has experienced astronomical growth on the web, as well as in an area that many of the weeklies had yet to fully realize: events.

Over the past three years, Orlando Weekly has launched the Orlando Beer Festival, the annual Halloween-themed Orlando Zombie Ball, a monthly pub crawl called Drink Around the Hood, a craft-cocktail competition called Mixer and a fine-dining restaurant showcase called Bite Night.

And that's just the beginning. We've served you for 25 great years so far, Orlando. Here's to 25 more.